At my high school, it is a senior tradition to travel to whatever elementary school you went to and walk the halls. Until I did this, I was pretty stable emotionally about growing up and moving off to college. (Well, except that one time when I watched "High School Musical 3" and related to their problems, but that is something no one needs to sympathize with). When you walk down the halls, the same halls where I learned to read and write, everything changed.

I have never been one of those people who thought the best years of my life would be spent in high school. That is why I have always been excited about the future and going to college. I have known what I wanted to do since the beginning of my senior year and everything was going according to plan. I just never thought that I would get this sentimental the day before I graduate. I was incredibly wrong.

When I went back to my school, I realized that all these kids just want to speed past these next few years to get to graduation. They looked up to us and were so proud of where we were when in actuality, I am pretty sure any of us seniors would have traded places just for one last chance to play tag at recess. I am a very, VERY sentimental person and I never thought of that as a good quality, but as I mature, I know I am going to be thankful for all the memories I treasure. I am about to hold tight to all the little things that I have picked up the past 13 years.

I have been an emotional wreck throughout the day as I have visited teachers and talked with people who I'll be leaving behind. As I spoke to my first-grade class I peer tutor for, I teared up looking at them. I told them that even though they are little, graduation is coming. Sooner than any of us think. I know they are all going bright places and have endless possibilities in store for them. That is what makes saying goodbye so hard.

My graduating class is a very unique one. I live in a moderately small town on the border of Texas and Louisiana where there are four elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. When I walk across the stage tomorrow night, I am saying goodbye to the kids I grew up with. I am preparing to move 10 hours away and start all over. I have hope because I was raised to be independent and have learned the courage to say goodbye.

I am a lot luckier than most, and that is why I am so excited for what the future has for me. I am lucky because I have a plan, but I also understand that things do not always go according to plan. I will move to Texas Tech University in August to pursue a double major in education and public relations. I have a wonderfully supportive family that I will be moving away from, but sometimes we have to fly the nest.

I always have heard that goodbyes are hard because you will miss something. I fully believe that. If I could just walk away with my diploma without a care in a world, I would have done something wrong during my time in school. My high school experience was full of emotional ups and downs that I will look back on and cherish. For now, though, I am looking towards the future. I know there are so many things that I have yet to experience. There are two Dr. Seuss quotes that I think perfectly capture my goodbyes and also my hellos. "Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened," and "Oh, the places you'll go." Because oh, the places I'll go are simply amazing.